Mission Statement

Fountaingrove II Open Space Maintenance Association (OSMA) is charged with responsibly managing its Wildland Urban Interface as a scenic treasure, balancing preservation of a self-sustainable environment of native vegetation and habitat, with the concerns of fire safety for the Community. It must also protect rare indigenous plants, and promote native plants in the revegetation of its landscaped parcels that transition residences to the Open Space Wildlands.

Supplemental Mission Statement:

Inform and involve the Community of the objectives and purpose of the Fountaingrove II Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) including:

Inform the residents of Fountaingrove II and surrounding communities of the important role they each have to make Fountaingrove Fire Safe

Work with Vegetation Specialists and Fire Agencies to educate the homeowners of their need to:

Create defensible space around their homes

Landscape in a firewise manner

Be prepared to react if a fire should threaten their home or that of their neighbor

Continue to maintain:

A proactive management plan of its Open Space for fire safety

Fountaingrove II’s recognized leadership role in taking fire safety measures that benefit the Community

The funds to operate the OSMA are derived from monthly dues which are assessed to the Fountaingrove II homeowners. Management is under the direction of a Board of Directors consisting of 5 volunteers who are elected by the homeowners of Fountaingrove II. The effort of the Board is supplement by other volunteers who serve with the Board Members on Committees for Landscape, Fire & Safety, Finance, Graffiti Abatement, Crime Prevention and Hospitality. The Board has hired a Real Estate Management Company to assist with the administration of the organization.

OSMA is not responsible for enforcing the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) that exist for Fountaingrove II. This is the responsibility of three separate Architectural Review Committees (ARCs) which have authority to exist in the East, West and Summit portions of the Fountaingrove II development.

The City of Santa Rosa decided it was beneficial to create a cross-town connection as an alternative to existing routes. The route selected was over the ridgeline of Fountaingrove which at the time had limited access and was a scenic view for the homes located below it. After considerable studies and debate, including an Environmental Impact Report, the construction of the Fountaingrove Parkway was approved to connect Montecito Boulevard at the intersection of Chanate Road to the partially competed Fountaingrove Parkway which terminated at Parker Hill Road on the East Border of the development of the Fountaingrove Master Ranch Association.

To finance the Parkway, a plan was implemented to allow construction of nearly 600 homes which would pay for 60% of the nearly $20 Million to build the approximate 2 miles of the Parkway. This was done with a special assessment bond which was attached to the properties and is being repaid through direct property tax assessment of the FGII homeowners, over a 15 year period. This arrangement allowed the creation of the development of Fountaingrove II and a means to finance a significant portion of the costs to build the Parkway.

The environmental impacts were numerous, and included the elimination of scenic views with houses built on ridgelines, disruption of habitat, erosion concerns, and the issue that some of the prime home sites would be on or near locations inhabited by the rare indigenous Rincon Manzanita and Rincon Ceanothus. The Policy Statement enacted by Santa Rosa Ordinance stated that as a condition of the development of the Fountaingrove II Parkway and Residential Project a Design Program be implemented for both the design of the development, and a long range plan to manage the 200+ acres of Open Space being set aside as Wildlands or Landscape transition areas to the residences that sprawled over 600+ acres. A further condition was that a special assessment district, or homeowners association, would be formed to manage the environmental and fire safety concerns of the Open Space into perpetuity.

The document created in April 1992 was the Fountaingrove II Design Program – Design Guidelines and Open Space Management Plan. The creation included input from several sources, including outside input from Biologists, California Department of Fish and Game, and the Native Plant Society. When the Fountaingrove II project commenced, the management shifted to the developers, who made the decision in October 1996 to form a Specific Purpose Non Profit Corporation to manage the Open Space. This purpose is detailed in wording of OSMA’s Articles of Incorporation as per below:

“The specific purpose for which this Corporation is formed under the Davis-Sterling Common Interest Development Act is to be a management association organized and operated to provide for the administration, maintenance and preservation of certain open space, buffer and landscape areas within that certain real property situated in the City of Santa Rosa, County of Sonoma, State of California (the "Project") and more particularly described in the Fountaingrove II East, Fountaingrove II West and The Summit Open Space Maintenance Declaration, (the "Declaration") which has been recorded in the Office of the County Recorder of Sonoma County. Notwithstanding any of the above statements of purposes and powers, this Corporation shall not, except to an insubstantial degree, engage in any activities or exercise any powers that are not in furtherance of the specific purpose of this Corporation.”

After development was substantially completed, the control of OSMA shifted to the present 591 lot owners of Fountaingrove II, of which only 6 remain undeveloped. The management of the Open Space, consisting of 201.7 acres of Wildlands and about 15 acres of Landscape parcels adjacent to the Parkway or interior streets is under the direction of an elected Board of Directors consisting of 5 volunteers.

The Design Program established the following objectives for the Open Space management for Fountaingrove II:

To retain a maximum of the natural values embodied in the site's existing vegetation and associated wildlife.

To preserve existing resource features of concern and restore or enhance selected communities and habitats.

To preserve the visual quality of the natural landscape in open space areas considering views from offsite as well as onsite.

To minimize the potential fire hazard associated with the open space/development interface.

To control erosion in areas where it occurs currently and to minimize the potential for future erosion.

To provide for certain recreational uses such as hiking consistent with the other natural resource protection and management objectives.